Gan-Lin and Julia the only survivors in badminton

MALAYSIA are left with the men’s doubles pair of Gan Teik Chai-Lin Woon Fui and women’s singles shuttler Julia Wong to carry the challenges after the quarter-final matches yesterday.

Teik Chai-Woon Fui, ranked 33rd in the world, as expected, defeated Vietnamese Tran Thanh Hai-Nguyen Quang Minh 21-19, 21-13 at the Vongchavalitkul University in Korat to advance to the semi-finals.

They will take on reigning world champions and top seeds Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia today for a place in the final.

In their previous meeting at the Macau Open quarter-finals two months ago, Teik Chai-Woon Fui gave the world number two pair a run for their money.

In the women’s singles, Julia blew away Thailand’s top shuttler Salakjit Ponsana 21-16, 21-12 in just 32 minutes to set up a semi-final match against second seed Maria Kristin Yulianti of Indonesia.

“It will be tougher for the men’s doubles. But Julia has a chance against the Indonesian. She has beaten her at the ABC (Asian Badminton Championships) this year, but then lost to her at the World Championships,” said coach Rashid Sidek.